NAT GEO WILD'S GONE FISHIN' FOR THE SUMMER WITH A NEW SEASON OF MONSTER FISH

Season Five "Reels In" Extremely Rare Freshwater Megafish, Including the World's Most Elusive River Shark, a Recently Identified Species of Giant Stingray and a Mysterious Monster That Hunts at Night

Monster Fish Hosted by Zeb Hogan Premieres Monday, July 7, at 9 PM ET/PT On Nat Geo WILD

(WASHINGTON, D.C. - June 17, 2014) For the past four seasons, fish biologist and National Geographic Fellow Dr. Zeb Hogan has traveled the globe in search of the planet's largest, weirdest and most dangerous freshwater fish. He's reeled in a cow-sized goldfish and wrestled a car-sized stingray. Now, in the fifth season of Monster Fish - premiering Monday, July 7, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Nat Geo WILD - he'll "tackle" a whole new mission, traveling through the U.S., Australia, Asia, Nicaragua and South America in search of elusive freshwater megafish. (For more information, visit www.natgeowild.com and follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/NGC_PR.)

This summer, Zeb is on the hunt for monster fish so obscure they've seldom been seen in the wild. With very little scientific information available, he hopes to catch, research and release some truly rare underwater behemoths in order to better understand and protect them. Down under in Australia, he'll search for a river shark so mysterious that an adult has never been positively identified in the wild. Braving the black waters of the Brazilian Amazon, he'll carefully navigate past anacondas and piranhas to study the shock of the stealthy giant electric eel. And to reel in the obscure river wolf fish, he'll team up with remote tribesmen in heart of Guyana who share their poisonous fishing techniques!

In each episode, Zeb immerses himself in the local culture, where fishing is often more than a sport, or even a profession - it's a way of life. He tastes the regional cuisine, mingles at fish markets, listens to the harrowing stories of native fishermen and sleeps where his local guides do - even if that happens to be a makeshift campsite not far away from a massive anaconda! From the action and chaos of catching a giant stingray in Thailand, to the excitement of stalking a fish that can breathe air and walk on land in America, Monster Fish ties the "thrill of the catch" together with community and ecology.

Premiere episodes include:

Monster Fish: Stingray Premieres Monday, July 7, at 9 p.m. ET/PT Rivers aren't exactly where you'd expect to find giant 1,000-pound monsters but that is exactly where Dr. Zeb Hogan plans to research giant freshwater rays. His journey starts in the Northern Territory of Australia, where Zeb searches for whiprays, a rare species that was properly identified only in the past few years. After catching mostly bull sharks, Zeb turns his attention to Thailand's giant freshwater stingray. On the Mae Klong River, he battles a 385-pound behemoth for hours. While not a world record, it's definitely the biggest fish that Zeb has ever caught with a rod and reel!

Monster Fish: River Wolf Premieres Monday, July 14, at 9 PM ET/PT The wolf fish can reach three-feet in length, weigh as much as 88 pounds and are a species said to be a brutal hunter-of animals and reportedly even humans. Little is known about this aggressive giant so Zeb heads into the heart of Guyana to hunt for the biggest wolf fish he can find and to see if they deserve their fearsome reputation. To reel in the elusive predator, he'll have to navigate the harsh terrain and carefully avoid heart-pounding encounters with anacondas, piranhas and vampire fish. Teaming up with one of the region's smallest and remote tribes, Zeb uses local techniques like fishing in the dark of night and using poisonous bait in his ultimate quest to hook a monster wolf fish.

Monster Fish: Amazon Shocker Premieres Monday, July 21, at 9 p.m. ET/PT Does size really matter? Zeb travels to the Brazilian Amazon to determine whether the shock of an electric eel is proportionate to the fish's size. They're capable of delivering a shock five times more powerful than a standard U.S. socket, making this mission particularly dangerous. Armed with local guides, high-tech electricity detectors and, of course, rubber protective pants and gloves ... Zeb carefully navigates the Amazon's black waterways where electric eels and the dreaded piranha and anaconda all reside. After some near misses and one cameraman's "shocking" brush with one of these electric fish, Zeb is finally able to put his theory to the test.

About Dr. Zeb Hogan

Aquatic ecologist and National Geographic Fellow Dr. Zeb Hogan travels across the globe in the television series Monster Fish to find big freshwater fish - some of them endangered-and the livelihood of people who share their habitats. Hogan earned an undergraduate degree in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of Arizona. He later became a visiting Fulbright student at the Environmental Risk Assessment Program at Thailand's Chiang Mai University. Returning to the United States, Hogan completed a National Science Foundation-sponsored Ph.D. in ecology at the University of California, Davis. He is currently an Assistant Research Professor at the University of Nevada, Reno and is the United Nations Convention on Migratory Species Councilor for Fish. Hogan now leads a new National Geographic Society project to identify and protect the world's largest freshwater fishes.

Monster Fish is produced by National Geographic Television (NGT) for Nat Geo WILD. For Nat Geo WILD, executive producer is Ashley Hoppin, senior vice president of production and development is Janet Han Vissering and EVP and general manager is Geoff Daniels.

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About Nat Geo WILD

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